Saturday, February 1, 2014

Oh India. You would.

A cool girl I met through work last week shared with me her cool new interiors blog and in the process I was reminded that I too had a place to write things down and you know what? Ima do it. In particular, Ima talk about India. Mostly because I spent a good number of hours today processing those photos and so it seems relevant.

India was one of the many random and exciting places I had the good fortune to visit in 2013, for the wedding of a wonderful, wonderful couple who happened to have wonderful, wonderful friends. The cast of characters was composed of San Franciscans and New Yorkers and one rad Philadelphibian who were all laid-back, funny, and unnaturally good-looking. Everyone looked like the cast of a reality show that I want to watch.

On the left we have Ryan. Ladies, this man is single and ready to mingle, and always looks like he's stepped straight from the pages of Marina Monthly. Holla.

Next is Meghan, hailing from Park Slope, Brooklyn. Meghan is unfailingly stylish and self-contained, has a wicked sense of humor, and you know right away she's cooler than you but she doesn't say it.

Then we have the Philadelphian, Jeremy. Jeremy was voted 'most likely to go to jail' by pretty much everyone ever. He had the energy, enthusiasm and type of thrill-seeking curiosity that opens doors (albeit at the risk of those also belonging to a jail cell).

And on the right we have Lauren! We were friends back in SF (whoo!) as well as roommates in India and she was joint-voted 'the most positive person in the world' as well as 'most likely to bail Jeremy out of jail.' Both of these things are true and probably related.

One of our first stops was the Gates of India in Mumbai. This is them. You could probably enjoy them just as well from the window of a moving car, although then you'd miss the crowds and people trying to sell you yarn-bracelets.

It also had boats, if you're into that.

This is our friend Peanut. Her friend Soybean latched on to Lauren, who exclaimed, 'Mine's not as cute!' Soybean also pawed at Lauren's purse, so we dropped her back in the box. We kept Peanut, though. Until the authorities caught up with us.

We couldn't stay in one place for more than ten seconds without one of two things happening: first, someone pressing something into your hand 'for good price' or second, a line forming of people who want to take photos with you. Come ON, people. Our show is still on cable!

I don't know why we attracted so much attention.

The beach. The hanging gardens. Hey! India!

On so many levels.

This market stall-lined pier led to a mosque-temple thing (research schmesearch), a destination that came with the added benefit of being Apurva-Approved. Here's how to determine if a location is AP-Okay: First ask the following questions. 1. Could it be remotely dangerous? 2. Do locals hang out there? 3. Is it nighttime? 4. Is it daytime? If you can answer 'yes' to any of the above, then the answer is 'Absolutely Not. What Are You THINKING?'

And now to the reason for the season: the happy couple! This is AP (of the approval-rating) and Cassandra, the glowing bride.

Let's talk about Indian weddings for a second. In particular, the bling. You can never be too bling. This is why Indian weddings are so awesome. Here is the set of bangles I got for the special day. I have to tell you, shopping for these is not the same as popping into a Claire's and throwing the glamour together. For starters, they measure your size. Bangles are meant to be so tight that you should feel like you're breaking your thumb to get them over your hand. If they slide right on, then they'll slide right off. They want them snug enough on the wrist that when you're dancing like the Bollywood star you were meant to be, those sparklers are in PLACE. Once they determine your size, they style them for you, arranging them lightning-fast into symmetrical patterns and then stringing them onto a small pole for your perusal. They should be worn in the exact order they're placed, or boy will you look the fool.

And now some photos from the wedding day! (Well, one of the wedding days. It's a multi-layered affair. BLIIIIING!)

The Indian Mafia approves.

This foxy lady is Christina! Another fine piece of New Yorker, she wisely abstained from our touring shenanigans and rocked out the red carpet at go-time. She was awesome at making things happen, so a very good person to keep close.

I could look at us all day. We are almost too good-looking.

I KNOW. It'll be airing on primetime soon.

Seriously, ladies. Single.

Then we headed to Goa! This was the leisure-part of the holiday, as there is little to do in Goa other than lie on the beach, love on some Kingfishers, and bask in the sun. Basically: heaven.

We also gained another San Franciscan! Check out that Hillary. Yum. (You can also see her here - she's so famous.) We also went to a spice farm! Because we're not total slackers. Ryan and Lauren tried their hand at tree-climbing and also we touched elephants. So, you know. There was that.

Maybe if I get around to it, I'll do a post soon with pics from Yorkshire that I took a year ago! I am on track, people.